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Electric bills increasing

WINNIPEG — Power rates will go up nearly three percent in April, a stop-gap measure while Manitoba Hydro's regulators prepare for a mega-hearing on Hydro's risk.

The Public Utilities Board ruled Tuesday that rates will go up 2.9 per cent starting April 1, which will cost homeowners anywhere between a 50 cents to $5 extra a month, depending on electricity use.

The PUB also laid out how it will deal with a series of risk reports — including ones authored by an anonymous whistleblower who suggested Hydro might be facing blackouts and severe financial problems. The PUB will be facing wrangling over what reports are public and what elements Hydro is allowed to keep secret to protect its competitive interests. And it said it planned to ask the whistleblower to allow her reports to be made public.

Starting June 1, the PUB will host a huge hearing on Hydro's long-term rates, the first chapter of which will cover Hydro's risks — everything from drought to export prices.

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